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What is unsophisticated is seeing things in black and white, as you are now. It's not an either/or proposition.
But as long as we're talking about city vs. suburbia, I can always trot out the gross lack of professionalism I've encountered in every office I've been exposed to on Long Island, that I've never experienced in a city office or in an office in DMV (DC/MD/VA).
To witness:
--Asking me my marital status on a job interview
--Asking me who I voted for and what my political leanings are
--Expecting me to work on a project before I'm on payroll
--Not having a desk, phone, or computer the day I start
--Going back on benefits noted in an offer letter
--Sexist, racist jokes laden with foul language
--Nepotism
--Yelling (although I do realize that yelling--and nepotism--occurs in offices everywhere, just that I have not experienced it anywhere but Long Island)
--Running commentary by a boss about how fat his secretary is
--Belching
--Unrestrained flatulence
But I guess expecting adults to behave like adults in the workplace is elitist of me.
No, I'm not unsophisticated for seeing things in black and white. I'm unsophisticated for not agreeing with you. Remember, I'm not the one that started this thread knocking people for being excited for a restaurant opening.
The thing is that sophistication is not knocking the enthusiasm of people who want a hot dog with a pickle. Sophistication is understanding that different people have different values. My frustration is with the OPs blatant disregard for other people and the difference in values from him/her.
What is unsophisticated is seeing things in black and white, as you are now. It's not an either/or proposition.
But as long as we're talking about city vs. suburbia, I can always trot out the gross lack of professionalism I've encountered in every office I've been exposed to on Long Island, that I've never experienced in a city office or in an office in DMV (DC/MD/VA).
To witness:
--Asking me my marital status on a job interview
--Asking me who I voted for and what my political leanings are
--Expecting me to work on a project before I'm on payroll
--Not having a desk, phone, or computer the day I start
--Going back on benefits noted in an offer letter
--Sexist, racist jokes laden with foul language
--Nepotism
--Yelling (although I do realize that yelling--and nepotism--occurs in offices everywhere, just that I have not experienced it anywhere but Long Island)
--Running commentary by a boss about how fat his secretary is
--Belching
--Unrestrained flatulence
But I guess expecting adults to behave like adults in the workplace is elitist of me.
I've experienced all that and more in just one evening in NYC.
I've experienced all that and more in just one evening in NYC.
You know what I think when I think of NYC. Anyone remember the McD's you could go to that was "fine dining." They used to come with white gloves to take your order and bring the food out on a silver platter. That's the essence of NYC. The same junk everyone else gets, it's just dressed up to look better so NYCers can justify paying 3x as much for a Whopper as some guy down in Louisiana.
You know what I think when I think of NYC. Anyone remember the McD's you could go to that was "fine dining." They used to come with white gloves to take your order and bring the food out on a silver platter. That's the essence of NYC. The same junk everyone else gets, it's just dressed up to look better so NYCers can justify paying 3x as much for a Whopper as some guy down in Louisiana.
So places like the Russian tea room, Peter Lugar's, and nice restaurants like those, are "the same junk" everyone else gets?
They certainly aren't exposing their children to a larger world if they can't even drive east to the beautiful East End or take them west to NYC once in a while.
Last Friday was the final day of Easter vacation for our grandchildren, and my sweet wife (Nan), had made a plan to take one of our grandaughters, Cassidy,
into the city for the day. Cassidy is in BOCES, and her major course in school is photography, so when Nan asked me on Thursday night to look on the computer
for some interesting place to go while we were in the city, I picked out The International Photographic Center and Museum of NY, after all, I love photography and
seeing that it is also Cass's major at school, it seemed like the perfect idea. We planned on getting the 10:18 out of Copiague, to Penn and would be comfortable
with the thought of walking from 34th and 7th, to 6th ave. and 43rd st. where the IPC was, in fact as long as Cass and I had our DSLR's, it'd be great to get a few
shots along the way of life in the city on a noontime Friday.
The three of us bought our tickets at the RR station's automated machine thing, my fare was the cheapest at $13.50, senior, off-peak round trip. Nan (64) and
Cass (16), paid $15. each, just the rail fares started our day at $43.00 and it wouldn't have seemed so excessive if not for my recollection of the $28.00 weekly ticket
I used to buy each week, while I commuted into Manhattan during the last stint of my work in an architectural office down on 16th and Park, but that was back in '85,
a lot of things have gone up in cost since then. We got hit with a $25.00 (collective), admission charge to enter the Photographic exhibition and were also cautioned
against taking any pictures, defeating the basic reason that we had for even going there at all! We stayed no longer than a half hour, many the photos were from 1939
and the gallery was poorly lit, most of one exhibit was a display of contact prints, of low quality too but the biggest disappointment of all, was Cass's damned blackberry
she was continuously texting, never gave it a break, and completely missed whatever element of culture that was offered there. We walked east to Madison and caught
the M3 uptown after deciding to browse the Met Museum of Art, hey, it is a public museum and there is enough to be seen there, even if we spent the whole afternoon.
What a thrill to find that I got to ride the bus for half fare, senior citizenship really does have it's rewards, it only cost us $5.60 to get from 43rd. to 86th. st., it was the
best deal of the day!
The museum drew quite a crowd, we haggled with the desk clerk over the price of admission, the recommended "donation" was $20.00 apiece but we got in for a
total of $25.00, paid with my debit card and were given permission to take photographs, but only without using a flash. Again, exhibit wing after wing, Cassidy kept texting
to her friends out home in Copiague and even though I tried several times to divert her attention to some of the fascinating artifacts or famous paintings, but she just didn't
seem to gravitate toward or even find a measure of interest in this different brand of culture. By 4:30 in the afternoon, I guess that the battery in her blackberry must have
petered out, I didn't see it again until we got to Penn sta. Perhaps the windup of my little story might be in the feeling that I got when my expectations, formed at the outset
of our trip were not realized, that maybe my expectation of Cassidy's enthusiasm was misplaced upon her. I kept getting the feeling that she'd rather be elsewhere, with her
friends or just back there at home, and not exactly into being with Nan and Pop, on a foray for culture. Maybe I'm just generationally gapped and I should have given deeper
thought to the warning that I got, as we boarded the train to Manhattan at 10:18 that morning. Right there at my feet as I stepped aboard, the threshhold clearly reminded
me to "Watch the Gap"...
I'm confused, what's sophisticated or open minded about knocking people who don't travel to Manhattan much? It's funny, because that's about the most close minded "why aren't you snobby like me" post I've seen. What's so sophisticated about the OP? They don't like chain restaurants. That's snobbish, not sophisticated!
Maybe those people don't like the BS you have to deal with in the city. The snotty people, the general lack of care for other human beings, the stench, the ridiculous lack of convenience, the 140 degree subway in the summer, and the snooty 26 year olds who think their better then everyone else because they put an apt # after their address.
Personally, I lived in the city for quite a while. Way over rated! You pay through the nose for conveniences that everyone else in the country takes for granted. You want a car? Yeah, right! You want to park it? Try driving around for an hour looking for parking! You want a grocery store for a gallon of milk? It'll take you 45 minutes. Want to get around? Leave two hours to go anywhere outside of a direct line or your immediate area. Like two people in the kitchen at the same time? Better have a cool million dollars to drop down on that 1 bedroom with a view of a bus stop. Like doing stuff? Best have a Black card, because almost anything that is worth doing is going to cost you through the nose.
Thanks, I'll take my unsophisticated neighbors, their small minded views, and their desire for comfort, security, convenience, space, relaxation, and novelty fast food establishments.
I agree; the OP smacks of snobbery and condescension. Whether someone likes a chain restaurant or a 5 star restaurant in NYC is their own taste. Personally, I find the response to Sonic amusing, but think that part of the draw is it is a unique experience for many -- when is the last time there was a restaurant with car hops on LI?
If this were a drive-in theatre and had an incredible turn out, would the OP blast the patrons for being so gauche as to take the kiddies in their pajamas to watch movies in their car?
Manhattan is a great place to visit; despite being NYC born and raised by NYC parents, I prefer my VT abode. My neighbors up there range from diplomats to entertainers, down to those eeking out a living. I have access to many wonderful local restaurants as well as outlets which sell fine wines -- as well as hunting permits, ammo & camo. The last thing I want when I am there is anything remotely chain inspired -- be it food or shopping.
There is a lot more to being cultured than an address in a big city and an aversion to chain restaurants.
Depends on the person. For me, the more I experience of life and the more well-rounded I am, the happier and more fulfilled I am. My only regret is the brevity of the human lifespan, because I want to do, see, and experience more than 70-odd years and not being a bazillionaire will allow.
Others may feel differently, and that is their prerogative. I just find it a bit sad when people assume that because one is well-traveled, well-educated, and well-rounded, that one is also an unholy snot. Well, "don't knock it 'til you try it" goes in both directions.
I have a close friend who has lived in several countries and traveled to dozens more, speaks five languages, and knows more about art, opera, antiques, religion, philosophy, gourmet cooking, fine wine, and politics than I ever will, and the day he became a U.S. citizen, I bought him a six-pack of Budweiser.
"Hey, you're an American now. You have to drink one. It's a rule."
His response: "Wonderful. Nice and cold. But it's in a bottle. I thought it was supposed to be in a can."
Now that's well-rounded.
but who can rly say wut it means 2 b "well rounded"/sophistoc8ed?
who decided that bein in other countries
owning a mac book pro
enjoying to read books by "albert camus"
knowing wut paintings r supposed 2 mean
who can apply sets of objectified values 2 these things?
wut is culture? wut is knowledge?
i dont rly kno...
some1 told me once
all cultre and art is made 2 express wut it means 2 b alive
whethr it realizes it or not
wut it means 2 b a human
by replicating thoughts, emotons "visual images"
if that is true how can 1 subset of culture b more valid
than another 1?
does it give some1 a more fullfilled human xperience
2 feel smarter than other ppl via knowing how 2 speak portugeese
or is it just the same/possibly worse as dancing at a nightclub
2 a popular song from the radio
i dont rly kno...
i think the person who told me that may b a drug user
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. Remember, I'm not the one that started this thread knocking people for being excited for a restaurant opening. 
Last Friday was the final day of Easter vacation for our grandchildren, and my sweet wife (Nan), had made a plan to take one of our grandaughters, Cassidy, 
The three of us bought our tickets at the RR station's automated machine thing, my fare was the cheapest at $13.50, senior, off-peak round trip. Nan (64) and 
The museum drew quite a crowd, we haggled with the desk clerk over the price of admission, the recommended "donation" was $20.00 apiece but we got in for a 
